The FCC issued a draft rulemaking notice that proposes to reverse broadband Title II reclassification under the Communications Act and eliminate an internet conduct standard, as expected. It's also seeking comment on how to address open internet rules. Chairman Ajit Pai, who previewed the item in a speech Wednesday, put the draft NPRM on the tentative agenda Thursday for commissioners' May 18 meeting.
The FCC released the text of two wireline items Friday that commissioners approved the previous day at their monthly meeting (see 1704200046 and 1704200018). A 64-page item contains an NPRM, notice of inquiry (NOI) and request for comment (RFC) on ways to accelerate construction of advanced wireline broadband infrastructure. The "actions propose to remove regulatory barriers to infrastructure investment at the federal, state, and local level; suggest changes to speed the transition from copper networks and legacy services to next-generation networks and services; and propose to reform Commission regulations that increase costs and slow broadband deployment," said the item. The NPRM proposes steps to ease pole attachments and copper retirements, including by revisiting technology-transition notification rules for the latter, and to streamline telecom service discontinuance requirements under Section 214 of the Communications Act. The NOI explores using FCC pre-emption authority to prohibit enforcement of state and local legal barriers to broadband deployment, and the RFC invites input on when carriers must obtain FCC permission to discontinue a telecom service. An eight-page order on reconsideration partially grants an NTCA petition and allows rate-of-return carriers to deploy broadband networks that exceed their capital allowance limits and still receive USF subsidy support if they pay for the costs above their limits.
Though the FCC voted 2-1 Thursday to restore the UHF discount and re-examine the rule later this year along with the national broadcast ownership cap, both Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, who dissented from the vote, and Commissioner Mike O’Rielly said in news conferences after the meeting they believe altering the national cap is the province of Congress. “Something of that significance, I would appreciate additional guidance from Congress,” said Clyburn in response to a question from Communications Daily. O’Rielly reaffirmed his view the agency doesn’t have authority to change the cap, and said he's interested to see how the matter “gets litigated out.”
Individuals and companies in the telecom and media industries sent big dollars to help President Donald Trump's inauguration effort, according to a form recently filed with the Federal Election Commission, dated Tuesday. Liberty Interactive Chairman John Malone, who has a stake in Charter Communications, gave $250,000 personally, and Liberty donated the same amount separately. AT&T gave $1 million in multiple instances, for a total gift of more than $2.08 million. Qualcomm gave $1 million. Intel and Microsoft donated $500,000 each, Google $285,000, Comcast and Charter $250,000 each, Verizon $100,000 and Amazon more than $57,000. Trump ally Peter Thiel, a tech industry official involved in the campaign and presidential transition, gave $225,000.
Changes to rules for the 3.5 GHz shared band appear to be on a fast track at the FCC, with Commissioner Mike O’Rielly driving the process, industry and agency officials said. O’Rielly asked the industry about potential changes to the rules, the officials said. But he's expected to push only limited changes. Wi-Fi advocates warn that more sweeping changes could mean a slowdown in the launch of the band, a multiple-year focus for the FCC.
Pending Senate legislation from Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., known as the Managing Your Data Against Telecom Abuses Act (see 1704170048), would remove the FTC’s common carrier exemption for broadband providers and give the FTC Administrative Procedure Act rulemaking authority for unfair or deceptive acts or practices on privacy and security, a Democratic Senate staffer told us. The bill text was unavailable. The legislation won't be formally introduced until Congress returns from recess next week, the staffer said.
Critics of an FCC business data service plan mounted a full-court press to postpone a vote scheduled for Thursday on a deregulatory draft order they say would harm competition and consumers unless changed. At the very least, they said the FCC should create a three-year transition to new BDS rules to give competitors more time to deploy new broadband connections to business customers and wireless cellsites. Three congressional Republicans from Arkansas backed a "reasonable transition." Incompas, Sprint and Windstream said AT&T raised business broadband rates in several states as the commission prepares to undermine BDS competition. "Those are unrelated rates not impacted by the FCC’s BDS proposal," said an AT&T spokesman.
An FCC draft wireline infrastructure rulemaking notice got more support than opposition heading into a scheduled vote Thursday, despite language proposing to roll back technology transition copper-retirement rules and streamline the process for discontinuing telecom services, which include safeguards backed by telco competitors (see 1704060046). In final lobbying before Sunshine Act restrictions took effect April 13, Verizon welcomed the agency's efforts to boost fiber deployment, and Google Fiber and the American Cable Association (ACA) voiced support while suggesting some tweaks to an NPRM section on pole attachments.
Rollback of the FCC’s ISP broadband privacy rules is “rapid implementation” of a “no-cops-on-the-beat approach,” which will continue to be the case until the common carrier exemption is lifted, said FTC Commissioner Terrell McSweeny at a Monday event hosted by New America’s Open Technology Institute and Public Knowledge. Congressional Republicans who voted for the law killing the FCC privacy rules, meanwhile, came under fire at town halls held during the congressional two-week recess. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., wants to ensure through legislation the FTC still has authority to act and is introducing the Managing Your Data Against Telecom Abuses Act, also known as the My Data Act.
More critics of a draft business data service order are pressing the FCC to delay a vote planned for the April 20 meeting of commissioners, so far to no effect. The U.S. Small Business Administration and others said more time is needed to address deregulatory BDS proposals in the draft they say would harm business market competition and customers. If nothing else, the agency should create a three-year transition for implementing a new framework, some said. Some are skeptical there will be a pause.